Control means for guided missiles, aerodynes and the like



Dec. 22, 1964 w. FLECK 3,162,399

CONTROL MEANS FOR GUIDED MISSILES AERODYNES AND THE LIKE Filed July 5, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I. I I T Q 3 35. 319

INVENTOR Will/22m Fleck A TTORNEXS Dec. 22, 1964 w. FLECK I 3,162,399

CONTROL MEANS FOR GUIDED MISSILES AERODYNES AND THE LIKE Filed July 5, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 SUPPLY INVENTOR \A/f/l/m F/ecK [3y W7 W A TTOR/I/EYS United States Patent 3,162,399 CONTROL MEANS FQR GUIDED MISSILES, AERGDYNES AND THE LIKE William Fleck, Gleutara, Deneight, Lisburn, Northern Ireland, assignor to Short Brothers and Harland Limited, Belfast, Northern Ireland, a British company Filed July 5, 1960, Ser. No. 40,894 Claims priority, application Great Britain, July 28, 1959, 25,887/59 8 Claims. (Cl. 244-14) The object of this invention is to provide improved apparatus for controlling pitch and yaw control surfaces of a guided missile or other moving body.

Apparatus according to the invention comprises a control lever mounted for angular movement in two planes at right angles to each other, a first magnetic circuit so arranged that changes in position of the control lever in one of said planes cause changes in the magnetic reluctance of said first circuit, a second magnetic circuit so arranged that changes in position of the control lever in the other of said planes cause changes in the magnetic reluctance of said second circuit, and first and second coil assemblies respectively associated with the first andsecond magnetic circuits and arranged to generate electric signals representative of the changes in magnetic reluctance, for controlling actuators of the pitch and yaw control surfaces.

In the case of a guided missile, the lever may take the form of a miniature joystick or control column, which" is mounted in a housing having a pistol-type grip so that it may be grasped in the hand with the thumb resting upon the free end of the lever, the movements of the lever being effected by appropriate movements of the thumb according to visual observations of missile and target.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional side elevation of control apparatus according to the invention for use on a sighting arm of a particular form of a guidance control unit for a guided missile,

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional end elevation taken on the line II-II of FIG. 1 and,

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of the coil assemblies embodied in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and a demodulator for demodulating the signals generated therein.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings the control apparatus comprises a substantially cylindrical tubular housing 11, which is suitably supported on a sighting arm of a guidance control unit and which carries at one end a depending pistol-type grip 12 which, in conjunction with another grip on the sighting arm, is used by the missile controller to adjust the angular position of the sighting arm.

At its end remote from the pistol grip the housing 11 carries two end plates 32 and 33. In the centre of the plate 32 is fixed one end of a rod 14 which extends axially through the housing and terminates at a point adjacent the pistol grip in a thumb button 15. The rod 14 possesses a certain degree of flexibility and is therefore capable of being moved angularly in any direction normal to its length by the movement of the controllers thumb pressed against the button 15. The angular movement of rod 14 may be limited to give the required electrical outputs, as hereinbefore referred to, by means of four adjustable screws mounted on the thumb button 15. Thus, the rod 14 constitutes the aforementioned miniature joystick lever. The ingress of dust and moisture to the interior of the housing 11 is prevented by an india rubber or like sealing cap 16 through which the button 15 on the free end of the rod protrudes.

Mounted at an intermediate point on said rod is a square 3,162,399 Patented Dec. 22, 1964 cross-section soft iron armature core 17, and in the housing 11 there are mounted about the core 17 a primary exciter winding 18 and two secondary coil assemblies respectively comprising pairs coils 19, 20 and 21, 22. The coils 19 and 20 are mounted on the limbs of two oppositely directed U-shape stator cores 23 and 24 and the coils 21 and 22 are mounted on two further oppositely directed U-shaped stator cores 25 and 26. The cores 23 and 24 lie in a vertical plane passing through the axis of rod 14 when the latter is in an undeflected position and the cores 25 and 26 lie in a plane also passing through said axis and at right angles to the first-mentioned plane.

The four stator cores 2326 carrying the coils 19-24 are mounted on a tube 30, which also carries the primary winding 18 and a plate 31 upon which are mounted circuit components of the circuit shown in FIGURE 3. As shown, the tube 30 is fixedly mounted within the housing 11 and the remaining space in the housing filled with an epoxy resin such as sold by the Ciba Co., Inc. under the trademark Araldite. The rod 14 is arranged to be co-axial with the tube 30 and fine adjustment of the fixed end of the rod to centralise the core 17 in relation to the stator cores is provided by connecting the end of the rod to the outer end plate 32 which is horizontally adjustable in relation to the inner plate 33 which is vertically adjustable in relation to the housing 11. Vertical adjustment of the inner plate 33 can be etfected by the screwing of a set screw 34 which engages in a threaded bore in a projection 35 carried by the inner plate 33, the screw 34 being held in relation to the housing 11 by means of a locking screw 36 the reduced end of which engages in a reduced section of the shank of the screw 34. A fixed pin 37 engages in a vertical slot 39 in the lower part of the plate 33 and Horizontal adjustment of the outer plate 32 is provided by means similar to that employed for adjustment of the plate 33, but these means are not shown in the drawing. The end plates are protected by a cover 13 attached to housing 11 to form an airtight seal.

It will be apparent that when the thumb button 15 is moved vertically upwards by the operator the reluctance of the magnetic path comprising the core 23 is reduced and the reluctance of the path comprising the core 24 is increased. In the same manner a differential change in reluctance is obtained in the magnetic paths'constituted by the stator cores 25 and 26 when the button 15 is moved horizontally in one sense or in the opposite sense.

Referring now to FIG. 3 this schematically shows an output circuit for the coils 19 and 20 for regulating pitch. A similar output circuit (not shown) is connected to yaw control coils 21 and 22. As shown in this figure, the coil 19 comprises two windings 191 and 192 and the coil 20 comprises two windings 201 and 203. It will be appreciated, of'course, that the two coil pairs 191, 192 and 201, 203 would be actually disposed in the same abovebelow relationship as coils 19 and 20 in FIGURES l and 2, and would have the same physical relation to primary winding 18 as illustrated in those figures. The primary winding 18 which is also common to coils 21 and 22 is connected to a single phase A.C. supply and reference windings 40 and 41 are coupled to it to provide reference voltages for a full wave phase sensitive demodulator 42 which comprises four transistors 43 to 46 connected as shown to the windings 191, 192, 201 and 203 and to a pair of output terminals 47, 48. Electrical connections to the AC. supply are made via a plug 49 (FIGURE 1) contained within a flange in the housing 11 and an electric cable which is fed through a tube 50 on the sighting the central position shown in FIGURE 1 or 2 increases the couplings from the primary winding 18 to the two FIGURE 3 windings 191 and 192 and decreases the couplings to the windings 201 and 293. As a result a DC. output voltage is generated across the output terminals 47, 48, the magnitude of which is a measure of the displacement of the armature 17 from its central position. Displacement of the armature 17 in the opposite sense produces a DC. voltage of opposite sign.

The DC. output signals so generated may be transmitted in known manner over a radio command link to control apparatus within the missile which in response to said signals effects a change in the position of the control surfaces as required by the remote controller.

In use, the missile controller will determine from visual observations of the missile and the target, or of images thereof projected upon a radar screen, what directional control mane-ouvres are required to guide the missile to the target. Deflections in pitch will necessitate a movement of the thumb in the plane of one of the secondary winding assemblies, and deflections in yaw a movement in the plane of the other secondary winding assembly; combined movements in both planes may of course be eflected simultaneously. In either case the displacement of the core in relation to the secondary winding will make such alteration in the current induced therein as is required to produce the necessary adjustment of the apparatus governing the pitch (or yaw) control organ.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for controlling pitch and yaw control surfaces of a missile or other moving body, comprising a housing, a pistol-grip type handle to be grasped by an operator and fixedly secured to said housing, a control lever mounted within the housing for angular movement therein in two planes at right angles to each other, said lever being secured at one end so as to be angularly movable in said planes by transverse forces applied to the other end, a flexible diaphragm closing an opening in said housing at the said other end of said lever, a button secured to said other end of the lever and mounted in said flexible diaphragm for engagement by the thumb of the operator when said handle is gripped, to effect theaforesaid two-plane movement of said control lever without moving said housing, there being within said housing a first magnetic circuit including a pole piece extending in the direction of the control lever and terminating in the region of the control lever in a pole face at right angles to the direction of movement of the lever in one of the said two planes, whereby a change in the position of the control lever in the said one of the planes produces a change in the magnetic reluctance of the said first circuit, a second magnetic circuit including a pole piece extending in the direction of the control lever and terminating in the region of the control lever in a pole face at the right angles to the direction of movement of the lever in the other of said two planes, whereby a change in the position of the control lever in the said other of the planes causes a change in the magnetic reluctance of said second circuit, and first and second coil assemblies respectively coupled with the first"and second magnetic circuits for generating electric signals representative of the changes in magnetic reluctance to control actuators of the pitch and yaw control surfaces.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a further magnetic circuit associated with each plane and including a pole piece extending in the direction of the control lever and terminating in the region of the control lever in a pole face opposite the pole face of the other magnetic circuit associated with said plane, whereby a movement of the control lever in said plane produces a differential change in the reluctances of the two circuits, and a further coil assembly associated with each further magnetic circuit and connected with the associated one of the first and second coils to generate electric signals representative of the said diflerential change in reluctance.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, comprising a full wave phase sensitive demodulator connected to receive the electrical output signals of the coil assemblies linking the magnetic circuits associated with each plane, and means for producing an alternating flux in the magnetic circuits.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the control lever is sufliciently resilient as to permit deflection in said planes by force applied to the said other end by the button.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising means for adjusting the position of the said one end of the lever to bring the lever to a required undeflected position in relation to the magnetic circuits.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lever carries at an intermediate position therealong a soft iron core which cooperates with said pole faces to vary the magnetic reluctance of the magnetic circuits.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each magnetic circuit comprises a U-shaped stator core lying in the associated plane in which the lever is movable, the limbs of each stator core being directed to said lever and wherein the coil assemblies linking the magnetic circuits are mounted on the stator cores respectively.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the magnetic circuits are excited by energization of a primary winding coaxial with the lever and encircling the armature core.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,888,635 5/59 Volk 323-51 2,903,663 9/59 Collina 32351 X 2,919,404 12/59 Rock 329166 SAMUEL FEINBERG, Primary Examiner.

CHESTER L. JUSTUS, Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING PITCH AND YAW CONTROL SURFACES OF A MISSILE OR OTHER MOVING BODY, COMPRISING A HOUSING, A PISTOL-GRIP TYPE HANDLE TO BE GRASPED BY AN OPERATOR AND FIXEDLY SECURED TO SAID HOUSING, A CONTROL LEVER MOUNTED WITHIN THE HOUSING FOR ANGULAR MOVEMENT THEREIN IN TWO PLANES AT RIGHT ANGLES TO EACH OTHER, SAID LEVER BEING SECURED AT ONE END SO AS TO BE ANGULARLY MOVABLE IN SAID PLANES BY TRANSVERSE FORCES APPLIED TO THE OTHER END, A FLEXIBLKE DIAPHRAGM CLOSING AN OPENING IN SAID HOUSING AT THE SAID OTHER END OF SAID LEVER, A BUTTON SECURED TO SAID OTHER END OF THE LEVER AND MOUNTED IN SAID FLEXIBLE DIAPHRAGM FOR ENGAGEMENT BY THE THUMB OF THE OPERATOR WHEN SAID HANDLE IS GRIPPED, TO EFFECT THE AFORESAID TWO-PLANE MOVEMENT OF SAID CONTROL LEVER WITHOUT MOVING SAID HOUSING, THERE BEING WITHIN SAID HOUSING A FIRST MAGNETIC CIRCUIT INCLUDING A POLE PIECE EXTENDING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE CONTROL LEVER AND TERMINATING IN THE REGION OF THE CONTROL LEVER IN A POLE FACE AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF THE LEVER IN ONE OF THE SAID TWO PLANES, WHEREBY A CHANGE IN THE POSITION OF THE CONTROL LEVER IN THE SAID ONE OF THE PLANES PRODUCES A CHANGE IN THE MAGNETIC RELUCTANCE OF THE SAID FIRST CIRCUIT, A SECOND MAGNETIC CIRCUIT INCLUDING A POLE PIECE EXTENDING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE CONTROL LEVER AND TERMINATING IN THE REGION OF THE CONTROL LEVER IN A POLE FACE AT THE RIGHT ANGLES TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF THE LEVER IN THE OTHER OF SAID TWO PLANES, WHEREBY A CHANGE IN THE POSITION OF THE CONTROL LEVER IN THE SAID OTHER OF THE PLANES CAUSES A CHANGE IN THE MAGNETIC RELUCTANCE OF SAID SECOND CIRCUIT, AND FIRST AND SECOND COIL ASSEMBLIES RESPECTIVELY COUPLED WITH THE FIRST AND SECOND MAGNETIC CIRCUITS FOR GENERATING ELECTRIC SIGNALS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CHANGES IN MAGNETIC RELUCTANCE TO CONTROL ACTUATORS OF THE PITCH AND YAW CONTROL SURFACES. 